I'll Actually Start Again on Monday

Bootcamp yesterday has left me gimpy today. My calves feel as if they've been shortened a good three inches, which brings new challenges to gross motor skills.

P-shaw! Who needs to walk when you can crawl*!?

So I'll spend the weekend in Epsom Salts and be back in action on Monday.

*sorry, Nickelburg, to have left you flying (crawling?) solo. Not like we work out together anyway since you're all sporty now and work out WITH THE GUYS!!!

Did Anyone Here Do 300 Sit-ups Before 9am This Morning?

I did.

That's right, folk(s). I went back to Bootcamp.

Back when I was dying and sweating my ass off in the winter, I swore OUT LOUD that I would never do it again.

But there really isn't any better way to ... well, work out that hard. Period. I'd never go run fast for an hour straight of my own volition. But I can easily (debatable) endure an hour of insanity with Alex and Ruben at the helm.

The boys have ventured out from the old digs and set up their own shop near Herald Square. It's pretty sweet-- tidier and brighter than the old place, and it's all their own.

A few things have changed:

• no more uniform (read: no ladies in Man Pants)
• slight differences in the core workout (warm-ups, etc)
• no strict use of Last Names Only (once today Ruben actually called me RobinReed-- yes, all at once!)

but a LOT has remained the same, namely one full hour of ass-kicking work out.

And this time, they've got stairs.

Their place is on the third floor of a maybe 15-floor building. One activity today was to run (!) up to 11 and back down. Easier said than done. Then run only up to 10, but with a MEDICINE BALL!!!

And, rest assured, I saw some tires in the joint. I'm sure that torture will resurface. There was one that looks like it was ripped straight off a monster truck. I plan on hiding that ASAP.

I Think I Broke Twitter

If you don't know what Twitter is yet, then you probably do things during the day like spending time out doors, reading or generally being away from your computer.

I, on the other hand, can find myself whiling away hours in what seems like mere seconds.

Part of this is due to things like Twitter. If you take a look over there in the left hand column, you'll see my recent "Tweets". These are postings you can put on Twitter-- minute to minute, nay, second to second updates of ANYTHING. In turn, you can read the minutia of those you choose to follow, and your "followers" can keep up to date on what you're doing. Every second of every minute of every hour and so on.


Well, I just went to bestow upon my 12 followers another random thought I had when I got this picture. Cute, but how the hell are those twelve people going to know what I thought of 3.2 minutes ago?! Fix it, Twitter! FIX IT!

So I had to kick it old school and post here on my blog.

Tree Trucks to the Left of Me, Chainsaws to the Right

I have a few bits of recording to do today before I jet out of the apartment and I'm being perfectly THWARTED by lawn care professionals!

My desk sits next to a window that faces the street. This is lovely for things like light and air, but terrible for sound-proofing needs. Every time I've plugged my mic in this morning, a "Tree Service" Truck starts raising holy hell out on the street below.

I thought I might move my operation out into the living room, but the windows (open or closed) can't protect me from the fellow who was inspired to do some of his own tree-removal or branch gouging this morning. There is an actual chainsaw ripping through the sound barrier in the back yard.

Now the tree truck and the chainsaw could all be part of the same team, but either way, I'm at a loss. I know these guys are working, but so am I! (well, at least I'm trying) And the biggest snag is that there is nothing I can do about it but wait them out.

You'd really have to be a big idiot to confront a dude with a chainsaw for making too much noise.

When we first moved into this apartment, Will had the bright idea to turn the closet in the office into a small recording studio for me. I scoffed, partly because I thought it would be silly to sit in a closet and partly because he mentioned taking the doors off and replacing them with some type of beaded curtain. But now, I think it's time to take him up on that one!

Where Have All the Ad Men Gone?

Will and I bought plane tickets this morning for an upcoming wedding, and this is what we got in our confirmation email:

Really? That's what they're calling it? The airlines desperately need some better Ad Men.

The Final Scene

We just wrapped shooting on the Benchcoach videos. I think we've made some really great little movies over the past 2 days. I'll alert you when they are posted online.

For now, enjoy a couple more photos from today:

Adam Swiderski and Katie Brack

and me

The Cop Scene

I've never done any "live-blogging" before, but I figured this would be prime material for it.

Here's a photo from Day 2 of shooting the marketing videos for Benchcoach.

(l to r) Ian MacRae, Sonny Parmar and Jude Severin.

What Would You Do To Win?

We started shooting today for a series of marketing videos for Will and Sang's company, Benchcoach.com. Here's a sneak peek at some still footage.

It was a great day with a great bunch of people. Day 2 tomorrow. More photos to come, then, eventually, the videos.

It's 9:52am and I'm Having a Cappuccino

"When in Rome..." goes the old saying, "Do as the Romans do." And for breakfast, the Romans Will and I lived near back in 2006 typically enjoyed a cappuccino and a cornetto (a horn-shaped pastry, similar to a croissant) while standing (not sitting) at a bar.

As a lover of a routine and a neighborhood (I'm in total bliss when I know my neighborhood and have established my routine), I was entirely enamored of this aspect of Italian life -- pop into the local bar, have your coffee and pastry and be on your way.

But it was frowned upon, nay, met with shock and dismay, to order a cappuccino after the morning time. You could drink espresso all day long, but you'd be better off walking through the streets in dirty wrinkled clothing than to order milk in the afternoon.

Well, while perusing over one of my new favorite blogs (Will calls this "girl porn" and deems it wholly NSFW), I came across a link to design site Three Layer Cake, where they discuss in detail the finer points of The Great Cappuccino Debate.

I guess, ultimately, it's a load of hooey. But if you need milk in your coffee after lunch in Italy, be on the safe side and stick with a macchiato.

Overheard in Urban Outfitters (6th Ave and 8th St)

Boy Hipster Clerk: Hey, is Michigan less than 100 miles away from New York?

Girl Hipster Clerk: Wha--?

Boy Hipster Clerk: Is Michigan less than 100 miles away from New York, about 100 miles away from New York or more than 100 miles away from New York?

Girl Hipster Clerk: (ponders, yet answers as if her male counterpart invented being a bonehead) Oh. More than. Totally more than 100 miles away. (looks away, still in thought)

True Story. Maybe the U.S. Public Education System really does need more maps.

I Don't Think I'll Ever Have Another Problem Ever Again

Bought this new shower curtain yesterday. Can you imagine anything bringing me down now? It's so pretty!

I bought it as a little reward for something I'll explain at a later day, but yeah, bright and cheery. That's the general mood around this place these days.

Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons on StoryBoard

Kelly Jean sat down with me back in January and told me the incredibly uplifting then heartbreaking then inspiring story of her prom night.

This story touched me deeply; KJ and I are about the same age, so we both had 1990s proms. Though my prom night was a pretty big deal (my dress matched our transportation. 'nuff said?) and I remember it fondly, it pales in comparison to the roller coaster ride that was the Prom of Kelly Jean.

Listen to Every Afterschool Special Rolled into One at StoryBoardAudio.com.

It's Bike Month!

I was on the subway last week and noticed a sign for Bike Month NYC. There was some semblance of a challenge as I recall, a "Ride Your Bike to the Office Every Day" sort of thing.

So today, Will and I dusted off our bikes and helmets, walked them over to the shop, filled the tires with air and biked to Manhattan.

Notice the many layers of protection: a helmet for the head, sunglasses for the eyes and a band for the sweat. (Will opted simply for a helmet and backpack)

We cruised down Clinton St through Brooklyn Heights on a nicely marked bike lane the whole way and ultimately chose the Manhattan Bridge over the Brooklyn, since we were both headed further uptown. Only snag is that the bike lane ends somewhere around Tillary St and leaves you lane-less and facing oncoming traffic. A hair scary for the first ride of the season, but we made it!

Will went to work and I headed to Noho to pick up a copy of my recent commercial from the editors and then I tooled around the West Village and had lunch at one of my all-time favorite cheap-o spots, Caffe Reggio.




Then I went down to Chinatown where this patient little man fixed up the holes in my sneakers*.








While waiting for shoe repair, I sat and got stared at by many an old Chinese man. I assume it's because I'm not Chinese. But hey, that's Chinatown. It was even more intense when we were in Korea!

So, get your bikes out, friends. I spent the whole winter forgetting how much I love the mobility of two wheels. And a helmet. Safety first!

*We're entering a depression, folks. Time to make your stuff last!!

Commercial

Back in early April I recorded a TV spot for Prime Outlets. Today I picked up a copy of it from the editors. I'm floored-- I think it came out really great! Check it out!

Outside My Window

So I'm sitting in the office and movement on the rooftop across the street catches my eye.

Of course, the first thing to enter my mind is "oh, it's Spiderman".

But no, just a man drilling from his roof while a decorative owl looks on from the fire escape.

Naturally. So Brooklyn.

More Voice Work

I recorded another couple of promos for HGTV yesterday, this time for Secrets That Sell and Rate My Space.

I also got a pretty cool gig that really stretched me outside of my knowledge base. I am the voice of the screencasts on Benchcoach.com, the ultimate Fantasy Baseball site.

You're probably asking yourself, 'um, you? sports? and Fantasy Sports at that?'

Yeah, me too.

But see, I know the guys that run Benchcoach, and I'm completely behind what they're doing. So I tried to make it sound believable.

You know, like that I know what I'm talking about when it comes to Baseball, Fantasy Sports and Databases.